In Phoenix in the summer of 2016, 48-year-old Martin Lopez Meza was found by police on August 12 suffering a fatal gunshot wound. Officers’ response to the scene led them to a nearby apartment complex where they confronted a suspect; that encounter left an officer injured and the suspect was shot and killed by law enforcement. The suspect’s name was not released immediately.

A separate, unrelated killing involved another man with a similar name four years later. On the evening of May 24, 2020, 49-year-old Martin Lopez was found near 69th Avenue and Garfield with gunshot wounds and died after being taken to a hospital. Police said the shooting arose from an argument, and a 38-year-old man, Juan Cazares-Lopez, was arrested the following day in connection with the death.

Are there any readers who knew either Martin Lopez Meza or Martin Lopez or who remember details about the 2016 or 2020 incidents that could help fill gaps in these cases?